Olive Sunbird

Olive Sunbird

Cyanomitra olivacea

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Zanzibar City

In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%

14 Verified sightings at Zanzibar City
2,215 In all 14 parks From 2019 to 2026
November Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Olive Sunbird

The olive sunbird (Cyanomitra olivacea) is a large African species of sunbird belonging to the family Nectariniidae which encompasses species of sunbirds, spiderhunters, and flowerpeckers, and sugarbirds. It has a large distribution that spans across central Africa from western countries including Senegal, Guinea, and Angola towards eastern countries including Ethiopia, Kenya, and Mozambique. This range also extends to southern African countries including South Africa and Zimbabwe. It is mainly nectarivorous and lives in a variety of forest, scrubland, and modified habitats.

The olive sunbird is a large sunbird that ranges from 6.2-15 g in mass, 50–73 mm in wing length, 20–29 mm in bill length, 35–66 mm in tail length, and 12–15 cm in overall body size depending on the subspecies and sex. Its body colouration can vary from fully dark-olive to dull-olive with a paler olive-yellow or olive-grey underside. It has a long beak that curves downward and varies in colour from solid black to mottled grey, beige, and yellow-orange depending on the subspecies. Yellowish-orange pectoral tufts can be present in the males and females found in eastern subspecies while only males... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Dawn song0:34

Ivory Coast · 2026

© Étienne Leroy · XC1186483 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:37

Kenya · 2024

© Peter Boesman · XC948151 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Song0:12

Kenya · 2020

© Colin Jackson · XC594595 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Semuliki National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~40%
2 iSimangaliso Wetland Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~40%
3 Kibale National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~30%
4 Arusha National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~30%
5 Bwindi Impenetrable National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~30%
6 Taï National Park 🇨🇮 Ivory Coast
~20%
7 Nyungwe National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
~10%
8 Mkomazi National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~10%
9 Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%
10 Virunga National Park 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo
<5%
11 uMkhuze Game Reserve 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%
12 Murchison Falls National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
13 Queen Elizabeth National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
14 Ngorongoro Conservation Area 🇹🇿 Tanzania
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Mombasa 🇰🇪 Kenya
~30%
2 Durban 🇿🇦 South Africa
~20%
3 Yaoundé 🇨🇲 Cameroon
~10%
4 Kampala 🇺🇬 Uganda
~10%
5 Abidjan 🇨🇮 Côte d'Ivoire
~10%
6 Dar es-Salaam 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~10%
7 Zanzibar City 🇹🇿 Tanzania
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing an Olive Sunbird in Zanzibar City?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Olive Sunbird sighting in Zanzibar City on a given day, based on 14 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 78th most-seen of the 86 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see an Olive Sunbird in Zanzibar City?

February, April, July and October–November

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Olive Sunbird in Zanzibar City on a given day, against under 5% in March, May–June, August–September and December–January, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see an Olive Sunbird?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Olive Sunbird sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Zanzibar City the best place to see an Olive Sunbird?

7th of 7

Of the 7 cities where we can rate Olive Sunbird sightings, Zanzibar City ranks 7th at under 5%. The best odds are in Mombasa (Kenya, about 30%), Durban (South Africa, about 20%) and Yaoundé (Cameroon, about 10%).

Where does the Olive Sunbird sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Olive Sunbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Zanzibar City (14 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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